Citrus Cherry
Citrus Cherry (formerly known as Game Fuel Citrus Cherry and also known in Sweden as "Game Blast") is a Mountain Dew flavor variant. It was the original and limited edition flavor in the first Game Fuel Promotion, and has returned for nearly every following promotion. Its tagline is "DEW with a Blast of Citrus Cherry Flavor with other natural flavors." History ''Halo 3'' Edition In 2007, Mountain Dew released this drink to promote the Xbox 360 Game,' 'Halo 3. Its packaging featured the logo for the game, as well as its main character, Master Chief. It was also available in Green Label Art 20oz bottles as well as in Slurpee form. ''WoW'' Edition Game Fuel returned in 2009 to promote the Online MMORPG, World of Warcraft. Its formula remained the same, and the only difference was the packaging on the bottles/cans, and the addition of a new companion Game Fuel flavor, Wild Fruit-flavored Dew. Also, it was marketed under the name "Mountain Dew Game Fuel Horde Red" as it represented the Horde. ''CoD: MW3'' Edition In 2011, after much speculation of Game Fuel returning again for the various games seeing releases that year, it was announced that it would be coming back to shelves to promote the game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. This time around, however, the drinks feature codes that earn players double experience points in-game. Citrus Cherry Game Fuel's formula remained unchanged again, and again it received a new companion flavor: Tropical-flavored Dew. The two stayed on shelves until the end of the year, when the Dew XP promotion ended. Afterward, the Tropical flavor was removed from the Official Mountain Dew Locator website, while the Citrus Cherry flavor remained as an option without locations. ''Halo 4'' Edition A YouTube video that was uploaded by a Pepsi employee in late August 2012, led to much speculation over a possible 2012 Game Fuel release. On October 1st, 2012, it was officially announced that Game Fuel would be returning once again on October 15th to promote Halo 4 as a part of the Dew XP promotion, which allowed fans to go online and enter codes found on specially-marked Mountain Dew and Doritos packaging. These codes unlocked extra in-game experience for their career in Halo 4 when it was released on November 6th, 2012. The Dew XP promotion ended on January 31st, 2013, and Game Fuel was subsequently discontinued. 2013 Edition Speculation from fans confirmed that Game Fuel would be returning in 2013. However, unlike previous promotions, there were two flavors supporting different games, Citrus Cherry supporting Dead Rising 3 as well as a Forza 5, and a new flavor by the name of "Electrifying Berry" supporting Ryse: Son of Rome ''as well as ''"Kinect Sports Rivals." The bottles also include the chance to win an Xbox One with the domain "every2minutes.com" along with the Game Fuel bottles all other flavors (minus Caffeine-Free, Throwback, and Kickstart) will also include the chance to win similar to previous promotions. The two stayed on shelves until the end of the year but remained listed on the product locator (although they did not have locations). 2014 Promotion-less and Advanced Warfare Edition In May 2014, Information began leaking through via the internet about the leaks that with no announcement, Citrus Cherry was being available in 12-packs and 20oz Sidekick bottles, but was never associated with a game of any kind and also bear no "LIMITED EDITION" label. On October 3rd, 2014, Mountain Dew's official Facebook page posted a photo, bearing official confirmation of 2014's Game Fuel Promotion. On October 6th, 2014, PepsiCo officially rolled out a distribution of two Game Fuel flavors: Citrus Cherry, and a new flavor, titled "Lemonade", to promote Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. Following the end of the promotion, Game Fuel (Lemonade) was pulled off shelves, while Citrus Cherry reverted to the promotion-less packaging. ''Amazon & Black Ops III'' Edition On May 4th, 2015, Mountain Dew opened a store on the popular internet retail site Amazon.com. Included in their marketplace was a 15-pack of 16 oz. bottles of Citrus-Cherry Game Fuel, among other items currently for sale. Available in these 15-packs are redeemable codes for the PlayStation exclusive version of Warframe, ''posing questions about Pepsi's reunion with Playstation after over 10 years of marketing with Microsoft's Xbox brand. The bottles can be purchased here. On October 5th, 2015 PepsiCo officially began distribution of two Game Fuel flavors: Citrus Cherry, and a new flavor, Berry Lime, to promote Call of Duty: Black Ops III. The promotion lasted until the end of the year. Similar to the previous promotion, Game Fuel (Berry Lime) was pulled off shelves after the promotion ended, while Citrus Cherry returned to the promotion-less packaging. ''Titanfall 2 Edition In June of 2016, leaked images of Game Fuel (Citrus Cherry) and a new companion Game Fuel flavor Mango Heat surfaced. The promotion was to promote the upcoming FPS game, Titanfall 2. Also, much like most of its previous promotions, it'll offer Dew XP. However, for 2016, the formula for Game Fuel has changed, as it now contains both HFCS & the artificial sweeter Sucralose/Splenda. This change brings the sugar content down to 46g for a 20oz bottle. The exact reason for the formula change was unknown. Arby's release In late 2016, rumors popped up about Game Fuel (Citrus Cherry) was coming to Arby's restaurant locations. On the official PepsiCo Beverage Facts website under the Fountain Drinks tab. The website indicates that this flavor will be only exclusively available to Arby's restaurant locations around the United States as seen with the description on the facts website: ''"Mtn Dew Game Fuel with a blast of Citrus Cherry. (Available for fountain only at Arby's)" ''proving these rumors to be true. On January 26th, 2017, A Twitter account by the name of Pitch Black Army tweeted a picture of Game Fuel (Citrus Cherry) that was seen in an Arby's restaurant in Utah inside of the soda fountain machine and label of it. Then on April 3rd, 2017, Arby's posted a Sim inspired video of the drink on Facebook. It was now available at participating Arby's restaurants with the 2016 formula with less High Fructose Corn Syrup and added Sucralose and Acesulfame potassium. As of April 2018, Arby's had received Coca-Cola products which means Arby’s no longer served Game Fuel (Citrus Cherry) in their soda fountains. 2017/2018/2019 Promotion-less Edition 2017 In late 2017, Game Fuel (Citrus Cherry) was mysteriously disappeared from store shelves for unknown reasons. It was most likely expected to make room for the Every60Seconds promotion and for the three limited edition Mountain Dew variants, which was Game Fuel Arctic Burst, Game Fuel (Tropical Smash), and Holiday Brew. It was speculated that Game Fuel (Citrus Cherry) was removed from stores shelves presumably because that Holiday Brew's flavor itself contained cherries within its flavor from the mix of Code Red and Mountain Dew. On January 3rd, 2018, the Every60Seconds promotion ended, which had Game Fuel Arctic Burst, Game Fuel (Tropical Smash), and Holiday Brew has pulled off from the shelves. Game Fuel (Citrus Cherry) was unfortunately absent for 2017, and 2018 Game Fuel promotion. 2018 Game Fuel (Citrus Cherry) was later re-released back in April 2018 in some stores in 12-packs, and 20oz Sidekick bottles. After that re-release to Game Fuel (Citrus Cherry), it remained through most of the months of 2018, and until mid-September 2018 where information began leaking through via video, and from a website. After those leaks, surprisingly that with no announcement, Game Fuel (Citrus Cherry) (now being called Citrus Cherry) was being available in 12-packs and 20oz Sidekick bottles, for a limited time, but was never associated with a game of any kind without the Game Fuel wording. On October 3rd, 2018, an image of other three limited edition Mountain Dew variants, which was Merry Mash-Up, Citrus Cherry, and Mountain Dew Ice (Cherry) was again later leaked with three release dates of each three flavors. It was revealed that Citrus Cherry's official release date was October 8th, 2018, according to the display case from the photograph where it was leaked from. At the end of the year, Merry Mash-Up and Mountain Dew Ice Cherry went discontinued, while Citrus Cherry returned to limited distribution in certain regions. 2019 Before information started spreading about the late-march 2019 release online, originally back in February 2019, Pepsi responded to an email saying there were no plans to bring back Citrus Cherry. During that time, it was still being sold as a regular flavor year wide available only at certain regions. It is still unknown why Citrus Cherry was still in limited distribution despite being stated by PepsiCo of it being a limited edition in the first place back in 2014 which is very unclear. Citrus Cherry will be available again in late-March 2019 as a permanent flavor for now on due to high demand with sizes as 12-packs and 20oz Sidekick bottles. Unfortunately, the late-March 2019 release was supposed to be a nationwide release. National distribution won’t start again until Quarter 4 (November to December of 2019). Netherlands In 2015, Mountain Dew Game Fuel was released in the Netherlands as a current flavor. In 2017, it was discontinued and also only available in 0.5-liter bottles. Denmark In Denmark, Mountain Dew Game Fuel was available in 0.5L bottles and in 330ml cans. In 2016, it was discontinued to make room by Supernova that replaced Mountain Dew Game Fuel. Sweden Game Blast was released in Sweden in 2016, it's similar to Game Fuel available in Denmark and The Netherlands. It's available in 0.5L bottles (16.9 oz). Description Much like Code Red, Game Fuel (Citrus Cherry) has cherry flavoring, but with an added citrus kick that gives it a more powerful flavor. It has been compared to various sugary candies (such as Jolly Ranchers) and is a bright red-orange color. Trivia *Amp Energy's Overdrive is said to taste similar to Game Fuel Citrus Cherry but had a less citrus flavor. *Game Fuel Citrus Cherry had a companion for the WoW promotion called Game Fuel Wild Fruit, for the MW3 Double Xp Promotion it had another companion called Game Fuel Tropical, for the X-Box One promotion in 2013, it had a companion flavor called Game Fuel Electrifying Berry, for the 2014 Fuel Up For Battle release, it had a companion flavor known as Game Fuel Lemonade, and for the 2015 Black Ops III promotion, it had a companion flavor known as Game Fuel Berry Lime, for the Titanfall 2 promotion, it had a companion flavor known as Game Fuel Mango Heat, for the Middle-earth: Shadow of War promotion, it was absent, because it had two companion flavors called Game Fuel Tropical Smash and Arctic Burst (A Slurpee flavor for Superman Returns). For the Halo 4 promotion, it had no companion flavor, mimicking that of its 2007 release. For the 2019 release, it will have four companion flavors called Game Fuel Berry Blast, Game Fuel Cherry Burst, Game Fuel Tropical Strike and Game Fuel Original Dew. *Game Fuel Citrus Cherry was unfortunately absent for 2017, and 2018 Game Fuel promotion. * This flavor has a similar color to Holiday Brew and Merry Mash-Up. * This is the only Mountain Dew flavor to be considered scarlet in coloration (though flavors with other shades of red exist in mass quantities). * Game Fuel (Citrus Cherry) was featured in the YouTube channel myCountyMarket along with other eleven Mountain Dew flavors: Game Fuel (Tropical Smash), Merry Mash-Up, Holiday Brew, Arctic Burst, Mountain Dew Ice, Mountain Dew Ice (Cherry), Amp Game Fuel Charged (Cherry Burst), Amp Game Fuel Charged (Berry Blast), Amp Game Fuel Charged (Tropical Strike), Amp Game Fuel Charged (Original Dew), Liberty Brew. 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